Folks, with the site derping to the point of being inactive, well, now might just be the time to start saying goodbye. It looks like the new owners will be transferring us to a site of their own design so the Escapist as we have known and loved shall likely cease to be.

I started coming here 8 years ago. I stopped lurking in the fall of 2012 and quickly found myself welcomed and chatting with new friends from every corner of the planet. It hurts to see an era pass, but it hurts more to lose my long time friends.

Just in case these are the Escapist's last days I'd like to thank everyone for the (usually) good company. Perhaps we'll meet again on a new site--perhaps the future Escapist, even.

It was worth it!

it was all worth it!!!

Should Old Acquaintance be forgot,and never thought upon;The flames of Love extinguished,and fully past and gone:Is thy sweet Heart now grown so cold,that loving Breast of thine;That thou canst never once reflectOn old long syne.

CHORUS:On old long syne my Jo,On old long syne,That thou canst never once reflect,On old long syne.

As with most I was originally drawn to this site because of Yahtzee and sticking around to lurk and see everything else before I started posting. This was one of the better forums that I've visited throughout the years and it'll be sad to see it go.

I rejoined the website to take a look around fairly recently and stuck around to see the place on its way. It's amazing to me that the site is still running and, completely honestly, it'll be weird to see it go.

To all my WW compatriots (even the robust mongoloids), thanks for all the fun, the derailing, and the callout-ing. You all contributed to an enjoyable and lighthearted atmosphere.

To @Bobular: Don't think you're safe. Maybe you won't see it today, maybe not even tomorrow, but eventually you will find a spider where you don't normally find one. So expect the unexpected spider, and try to not be surprised by the surprise. Spiders are coming for you...

No spiders in herePHA+PGltZyBzcmM9Imh0dHA6Ly9nd3lkaXIuZGVtb24uY28udWsvam8vYW5pbWFsL2NhbWVsMS5qcGciIGFsdD0iaW1hZ2UiLz48YnIgLz5TZWU/IENhbWVsLiBWZXJ5IGRpZmZlcmVudC48L3A+

Yeah, I don't quite get the Doom & Gloom myself here. If they wanted to gut the site, it would have been way easier to just gut the site in the night, take Yahtzee and friends to wherever, and disappear instead of putting a target on their back by announcing how changes were coming and then gutting the site.

Is it possible that it was all a hoax/joke? That to me seems the least likely as there has been a lot of movement in the background with fixes (or changes if you want to be mean with all the 504 and 502 issues lately) happening at the same exact time that someone comes in stating they are buying the website.

Is it possible that the "changes coming" were just going to be site gutting? That also seems very unlikely as I stated above, all you're doing is putting a target on your back by pissing everyone off when you could have easily just slinked away in the night with the goods and everyone would have assumed DEFY the culprit.

Is it possible that they HAD plans to fix up everything and realized just how borked everything was and will just bullet the site? If this is the end, that at least feels a lot more plausible as this website is older than some users here and probably needs a lot of work still...

I'm still with NewClassic's thinking in the "announcement coming" thread that we are experiencing tech growing pains here. Whether that means we will stay The Escapist or slowly get integrated into an "Escapist 2.0" feels like what is happening but all we can do is sit back and ride it out.

I suppose if I am incorrect here and this is the end of the end, it's been a fun time people. Mistakes have been made by all (myself included) with how the site has gone for this last year and change with DEFY abandoning ship but I do hope that people at least mostly enjoyed themselves. All I can say is that we did do our best and hope that even if people don't agree with it all, they can at least understand it or at the very least, be happy for the good times and forget the bad.

If this is the end, then thank you and goodbye to everyone. I will probably go join that Into Sanctuary forum someone set up and maybe I'll see some of you there.

But I will be sorry to see the old girl go, it has been a constant source of amusement. I joined 7ish years ago after lurking for a while. I think my first post was about video games that made you cry. That post, as so many of my posts, never got a reply. But I am still here, clean health bar. I've only ever got one warning. My only regret is that I never got my Neo badge before I started calling you all a bunch of (DELETED).

But screw it, I'm not going yet, I'll be here when they turn the lights off. And then stumble around in the dark trying to find my way out.

Edit: I can't believe I forgot, a big thanks to everyone in The Barclays Premier League user group, if any of you are still here.

I've been here a long time, posting on and off. Through the glory days and the low points. Mistakes were made, frustration was had. But on the whole? I have no regrets. I have enjoyed my time here and if this place gets shuttered, I'll miss it.

Whatever is coming, whether a definite close to the Escapist, or perhaps a reincarnation into something else, it seems the end of an era either way. But it's been real.

You say goodbye...PHA+PGRpdiBzdHlsZT0idGV4dC1hbGlnbjogY2VudGVyOyI+PGlmcmFtZSB3aWR0aD0iNDMyIiBoZWlnaHQ9IjI2OCIgc3JjPSJodHRwOi8vd3d3LnlvdXR1YmUuY29tL2VtYmVkL3JibFlTS3pfVm5JP2F1dG9wbGF5PTEiIHNjcm9sbGluZz0ibm8iIGZyYW1lYm9yZGVyPSIwIiBzdHlsZT0iYm9yZGVyOiAwcHggbm9uZSB0cmFuc3BhcmVudDsiPjwvaWZyYW1lPjwvZGl2PjwvcD4=

Well, I liked this site. I hope the community will continue to exist some way or another. If the site is either being fixed or retooled into something new and exciting I hope we'll soon see the day when we can call a new, improved Escapist our home. If it's really gonna go down without replacement... well, it was fun while it lasted. I liked the site and I liked its users.

PsychedelicDiamond:Well, I liked this site. I hope the community will continue to exist some way or another. If the site is either being fixed or retooled into something new and exciting I hope we'll soon see the day when we can call a new, improved Escapist our home. If it's really gonna go down without replacement... well, it was fun while it lasted. I liked the site and I liked its users.

Oh the good times we had. Remember when the Wild West was finally cured? Good times! Remember when MovieBob and Jim Sterling were driven from the site like the toxic edgelords they really are? Good times!

Oh Oh! Remember when Lisa Foils wore something tight-fitting and skimpy and talked about her Top 5 Mario Jumps?! Good times!

PsychedelicDiamond:Well, I liked this site. I hope the community will continue to exist some way or another. If the site is either being fixed or retooled into something new and exciting I hope we'll soon see the day when we can call a new, improved Escapist our home. If it's really gonna go down without replacement... well, it was fun while it lasted. I liked the site and I liked its users.

Oh the good times we had. Remember when the Wild West was finally cured? Good times! Remember when MovieBob and Jim Sterling were driven from the site like the toxic edgelords they really are? Good times!

Oh Oh! Remember when Lisa Foils wore something tight-fitting and skimpy and talked about her Top 5 Mario Jumps?! Good times!

Moviebob is an manchild that refuses to let go of the fuckin 1980s.

PC Gaming is not dead Bob.

Halo is not White Supremicist and First Person Shooters are not creatively bankrupt.

At this point I don't think the Mods have any idea what's going on. A few days ago the site was being revamped and Kross was back. Now the site is being shut down and zombie bees are invading. My guess is there will be a day or two the site is 504. Then it redirects to a new site, either with our accounts already activated or not.